Whether on a journey or rampage, keeping control can be an issue

Sunday

Oct 28, 2012 at 12:01 AM

Will Smith

"Fable: The Journey" available exclusively for the Xbox 360. Requires the Kinect motion sensor. Rated "T" for Teen. $49.99

I've been a big proponent of the Kinect motion sensor for the last couple of years. And while many of my hardcore gaming brethren sneer at the casual gaming toy, I gently "pshaw" their negativity. I enjoy shaking my body around in front of the TV like an attention-starved fool.

Unfortunately, the recent spate of hardcore games designed for the sensor have been undone by the Kinect's inability to read body motion on a consistent basis. The "Dance Central" franchise is the one bright spot in the Kinect library, but since I'm not much of a dancer, it's a series I've largely ignored.

All too often, my reviews for Kinect games kick off with an intro that boils down to "I really wanted to like this game."

I really wanted to like "Fable: The Journey." And for awhile, I did. You spend much of the game pulling on the reins of a horse - a rather simple action that seems to be tailor-made for the Kinect.

But then I learned to fling magic spells from my fingertips, and my frustration with the game started to rise. Half the time I threw a spell to my right, it ended up going left. When I aimed for the top of the screen, the spell hit the bottom.

As well executed as the presentation for "Fable: The Journey" is, the poor Kinect controls bring the entire experience down.

Set 50 years after the events of "Fable III," the game puts players in the role of Gabriel - a caravan rider who loses his way from the rest of the pack during a lightning storm. As Gabriel makes his way back to the caravan, he stumbles into an abandoned cave where he is granted magic gauntlets that must be used to stop the corruption that is taking over the medieval land of Albion.

The story is by-the-numbers fantasy (much like the main "Fable" series), but the presentation is stellar enough to make this feel like a triple-A game. Since Gabriel is in charge of his own horse and carriage, it's up to the player to steer the carriage through hand motions. Thankfully, this is one of the few Kinect games that encourages you to sit on your couch.

The horse-and-carriage controls are about as spot on as you could hope for. All you have to do is put your hands by your lap, pull back on one side or the other when you want to turn, and bring your hands up to your chest to make the horse stop. To make the horse run faster, just snap the imaginary reins like a cowboy.

I've never ridden a real horse for more than a few minutes, and to be honest, my short-lived experience left me a bit terrified. But driving the imaginary horse in this game was smooth enough to lull me into a trance. I couldn't resist yelling "hyah!" at the top of my lungs every time I snapped the reins, but soon stopped after my throat started getting raw.

Then the magic happened - and not in a good way. Gabriel often finds himself locked in magical battle with baddies from the previous "Fable" games, and when the magic works correctly, it's pretty bad-ass. Launching hobbes (little goblin-like creatures) into the air with a well-placed spell is a lot of fun - when it works. Gabriel's forward movement is automatically handled by the game, which gives it a very on-rails shooter feel.

What you're left with is half a great game, and half an average one. Opinions vary, of course, and you may find your magical aim is much better than mine. Some game critics have praised the magic-casting portion of the game and absolutely hated the driving sections.

"Fable: The Journey" isn't the killer app that the Kinect has needed for so long, but it is the best Kinect game outside of the "Dance Central" series. That isn't really saying much, but if you're a "Fable" fan who happens to own a Kinect, a rental is definitely in order. Get past the finicky controls, and that rental could possibly turn into a purchase.

Two-and-a-half out of Four Stars

"Retro City Rampage" available for download on the Playstation 3, Playstation Vita and PC. Rated "M" for Mature. $14.99

I've been following the progress of this little indie title for the last couple of years, so when "Retro City Rampage" finally became available for purchase, I had no hesitation in hitting the "Buy" button.

Luckily, this blind purchase was much better a decision than my pre-order of "Resident Evil 6." Though the extreme difficult and rather slippery controls can put a crimp on the fun, I've been having a blast.

The concept for Retro City Rampage originally came from a home-brew project that began in 2002. Game programmer Brian Provinciano started the project in his spare time after constructing his own Nintendo Entertainment System development kit. His goal was to remake one of his favorite games, "Grand Theft Auto III," with eight-bit sprite graphics.

Throw in a multitude of classic eight-bit game references from the 1980s such as "Contra," "Bionic Commando" and "Mega Man," and that's exactly what "Retro City Rampage" is - an open world, eight-bit crime game steeped in nostalgia.

Just don't expect to fall in love right away. Though the retro-style graphics are immediately eye-catching, the opening sequence is extremely over-plotted for such a simple game. Tiny character sprites converse with each other before taking the player (who is named Player) on a confusing rampage of death and destruction that makes it hard to tell which character you are.

Once the tutorial is over, the game slows down and opens up, and the joy of playing an old-fashioned crime game sinks in. Just like "Grand Theft Auto" and its imitators, "Retro City Rampage" gives you the ability to carjack any vehicle on screen. From there, you can mow down pedestrians, check out the shops or go to the next mission. You also can just start shooting everything in sight, which quickly brings the cops down on your head.

Since the game utilizes a zoomed-out overhead perspective very similar to the first "Grand Theft Auto" (which came out in 1997), driving the vehicles can be extremely difficult - especially the fast ones. One of the missions makes your car so fast that it almost is impossible to steer without instantly ramming into a building.

The missions don't get much easier, but the twin-stick shooter mechanics (use the right analog stick to fire) are fairly intuitive. Many of the objectives are direct throwbacks to older games, such as the "Metal Gear"-influenced mission that requires you to sneak into the back of truck. The original "Metal Gear" became infamous for the poorly translated sentence "Uh-oh, the truck have started to move," and this game takes great joy in mixing its own grammatical errors during the mission.

Unfortunately, some of the humor, such as the "Back to the Future" parody that supports the main story, falls a little flat. I love Marty McFly and Doc Brown as much as anyone, but some of these jokes would have seemed lame 25 years ago.

"Retro City Rampage" isn't the indie game of the year contender I had hoped it would be, but it's still a hell of a lot of fun. Not bad for a one man-programming team.

Three out of Four Stars

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.

Extras

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
The Hawk Eye Newspaper ~ 800 South Main Street, PO Box 10, Burlington, IA 52601-0010 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service